[01itr]

Russian government considers banning iPad, adopting RIM, reports say | Trading Desk | Financial Post

Research In Motion Ltd. may have found a new ally in its quest to establish the BlackBerry PlayBook as the default tablet within the corridors of power around the world: the Russian government.

Reports from several Russian newspapers — including the daily business publication RBK Daily — indicate the Russian government is considering a ban on Apple Inc.’s iPad inside government agencies due to security concerns, instead opting for more “cryptographically secure tablet PCs.”

The reports suggest the government is still deciding whether it will use devices from RIM, tablets running Google Inc.’s Android software or a new device created by a Russian agency using “a variety of security systems.” The implementation of a more secure system will help “speed up workflow among agencies” according to the report.

If true, the backing of the Russian government could prove to be another victory for RIM as it seeks to use its reputation of prioritizing security technology to position the BlackBerry PlayBook as the tablet of choice for businesses and governments, the way it originally marketed its BlackBerry smartphones.

Indeed, it was RIM’s security technology which helped the company’s BlackBerry devices to become the gold standard of mobile devices for government agencies around the world, including the Canadian government and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Last week, RIM announced the United States government had granted the BlackBerry PlayBook “FIPS 140-2 certification,” making it the first tablet approved for use by employees of U.S. federal government agencies.

Since launching earlier this year, RIM’s first tablet has struggled in the consumer market to keep pace with Apple Inc.’s iPad, which currently commands 61.3% of the market, compared to about 3.3% for the PlayBook, according to data from market research firm Strategy Analytics.

RIM was criticized for its decision to not include a native email client on the BlackBerry PlayBook – users can access their email by wirelessly connecting their PlayBook to their BlackBerry smartphone — however RIM officials have maintained that by ensuring no email data is stored on the PlayBook itself, the device is more secure for government IT departments.

Lookin good RIM! I knew things would start turning around with all the recent security worries and threats. RIMs time to shine

[lnichols]

Regardless of what the market thinks, or some of the more pessimistic people on this board think, that certification will be money for RIM. RIM get off your a$$ and get the native PIM/e-mail out and you'll start selling them to the US government, and probably other governments, guaranteed.

[scorpiodsu]

I don't care what anyone says, the corporate and government sectors won't save RIM.

[_StephenBB81]

I don't care what anyone says, the corporate and government sectors won't save RIM.

"Save RIM"

Save them from what? they could continue on the path they have been on and remain profitable for a long time, they wouldn't be market leaders but they very much could remain a viable company ONLY selling to the corporate sector. their Revenue and profit are enviable by many who sell ONLY into the government

[lnichols]

But if the article is to be believed, native e-mail will make the PlayBook less secure, and security is precisely the reason the Russian Government chose it. Well, that and the constant intoxication of Russian Government leaders.

Just because people write something down, doesn't mean that they got it all right. With the crypto module approved, if the native PIM and e-mail data is stored on and encrypted by the device, and locked with PIN/password, then that data is secured at the same level as if it were on the phone. The remote wipe would be the only issue, but first time the tablet gets into Wifi then it would try to call home and get wiped, or password wrong enough will wipe. Without the password data would be unattainable.

[jd914]

I don't care what anyone says, the corporate and government sectors won't save RIM.

I agree, countries making decisions aren't going to drive up stock prices for RIM. The bottom line is that it's all about the stock.

[southlander]

But if the article is to be believed, native e-mail will make the PlayBook less secure, and security is precisely the reason the Russian Government chose it. Well, that and the constant intoxication of Russian Government leaders.

Who's to say RIM will not simply allow this to be policy controlled? Just require bridged email for the strictest security.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[sportline]

To make it even more secure, take out the browser.
A handset is more likely to get stolen, than a tablet. So why is the phone got native email?
This security hype doesnt make sense.

Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk

[Economist101]

Just because people write something down, doesn't mean that they got it all right.

Except we know they did get it right. RIM's initial claim was that native e-mail was a security risk that the Bridge functionality would bypass, and that the absence of native e-mail was a strategic decision by the company. Of course it turned out the "security" claim was code for "we won't get the native e-mail app done on time," and in fact RIM abandoned the security angle even before the PlayBook launched. In its place was a promise that a native e-mail app was coming, which suggests the concern was never about security. Now, add in the fact that the PlayBook has been available for 100 days without those apps being released and it becomes clear why RIM chose not to hold the launch until they could be completed.

[sportline]

No native email on pb means bridge is required. Thus people will buy bb handset.
So rim ends up selling 2 devices..as in bundled pb and bb we saw in oz and indonesia. Good business plan, cleaning bb bold 9780 stock in the warehouse, and selling out pb.


Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk

[1812dave]

No native email on pb means bridge is required. Thus people will buy bb handset.
So rim ends up selling 2 devices..as in bundled pb and bb we saw in oz and indonesia. Good business plan, cleaning bb bold 9780 stock in the warehouse, and selling out pb.


Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk

Right [sarcasm]...and how's that working out for them??

[sportline]

Dont know. Maybe russian gov will buy lots of bb and pb for official use. who knows? Or maybe they already did, pb is just additions. Its a good selling point, maybe other gov follows.

Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk

[technology_fanboy]

I agree, countries making decisions aren't going to drive up stock prices for RIM. The bottom line is that it's all about the stock.

... The US government can't come to an agreement on raising it's debt limit. This shenanigans has caused the market to tumble and the US is at risk of lossing it's AAA rating -

[kevinnugent]

Sheesh. Any customer is a good customer.

[EchoTango]

Remember folks, the whole security approach is based on no private data is retained on the Playbook and everything is retained only on the handset.

Adding a native email, calendar and IM to the PB defeats the whole security purpose of the bridge software. Then there's the added complexity of synchronizing all the various pieces and the risk missing meetings or emails. The bridge software negates the need for any of this.

So, while many see this software as "missing", in fact, I would guess the security folks at RIM would disagree.

[sportline]

How about office files? Are those files not supposed to stay in pb as well? So the 64gb memory, what for?

Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk

[lnichols]

Except we know they did get it right. RIM's initial claim was that native e-mail was a security risk that the Bridge functionality would bypass, and that the absence of native e-mail was a strategic decision by the company. Of course it turned out the "security" claim was code for "we won't get the native e-mail app done on time," and in fact RIM abandoned the security angle even before the PlayBook launched. In its place was a promise that a native e-mail app was coming, which suggests the concern was never about security. Now, add in the fact that the PlayBook has been available for 100 days without those apps being released and it becomes clear why RIM chose not to hold the launch until they could be completed.

It was a security risk, at least compared to the handset, because the encryption in the Playbook wasn't approved to the high levels that the handsets are, at that time. The claim was that you could read your information on phone from the tablet and it was secure because nothing was left on the tablet, which wasn't approved. Now that it is approved, the information could be secured on the tablet to the same level as the phone. They just got the approval last Friday for the crypto module, as well as the C Language encryption toolkit for the Playbook on the same day.

[grover5]

Man, the same 4 or 5 posters everytime. A government chooses a RIM product? Well clearly that's bad. Customers don't choose RIM products. Well clearly that's bad. These characters live on this forum to do nothing but spin everything as bad news for RIM and they defend it by saying they're losing market share. As if the loss of market share excuses that behavior. For the record referring to Russia as drunken or third world is offensive.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[01itr]

It was a security risk, at least compared to the handset, because the encryption in the Playbook wasn't approved to the high levels that the handsets are, at that time. The claim was that you could read your information on phone from the tablet and it was secure because nothing was left on the tablet, which wasn't approved. Now that it is approved, the information could be secured on the tablet to the same level as the phone. They just got the approval last Friday for the crypto module, as well as the C Language encryption toolkit for the Playbook on the same day.

To my knowledge, this is exactly why they decided to not put native e-mail. Now that it is certified, email stored on the playbook should have the same level of security as on the handset. Remember, RIM has to think of its enterprise customers first and foremost, especially government. So they can't release unsecured things like native email before it got certified, without slowing down the certification process. Now that it is certified, they can start working on the cool stuff (hopefully)

[BigBadWulf]

Sheesh! Focus people, focus.

Russia is still a powerhouse, let's get that clear to start. Who knows, if things continue as they are, they may just pass us in the rating game a decade or two out.

Stock value at RIM? Really?!? Do we need a daily report of it? Yes, it's continuing to go down, and probably will for a while yet. It's as useless to watch as paint drying. Wait for the new toys to arrive, and then have a look 6 months from that point.

Anyone on BES is protected from losing personal information, and those on BIS smart enough to have BB Protect are too, so losing your phone only puts you at risk if you're foolish enough to not make full use of the security provided. I understand the point made about PB storage, but again, it's up to individual users to choose what they store on it, and what they bridge to their BlackBerry.

While there's a lot that's been wrong at RIM, there's plenty right too. Wipe the drool from your mouths, and open your eyes. The RIMpire is striking back.

[jd914]

Remember folks, the whole security approach is based on no private data is retained on the Playbook and everything is retained only on the handset.

Adding a native email, calendar and IM to the PB defeats the whole security purpose of the bridge software. Then there's the added complexity of synchronizing all the various pieces and the risk missing meetings or emails. The bridge software negates the need for any of this.

So, while many see this software as "missing", in fact, I would guess the security folks at RIM would disagree.

Security might be fine and dandy for governments and private enterprise but equals poor sales and mediocre reviews. Lets face it, no matter how you try to paint it, the PB was a flop. You don't see it selling out anywhere, you probably don't know anyone that wants one and it does not cater to the average consumer $$$. Like said before it's a half baked tablet with no practical use in the average consumer market. If in fact RIM's target customer for the PB was government or enterprise then that was a enormous fail on their behalf. Time for RIM to start thinking out of the box. They are in this predicament because exactly what you say and believe in. You RIM apologist never cease to amaze me.

[01itr]

Security might be fine and dandy for governments and private enterprise but equals poor sales and mediocre reviews. Lets face it, no matter how you try to paint it, the PB was a flop. You don't see it selling out anywhere, you probably don't know anyone that wants one and it does not cater to the average consumer $$$. Like said before it's a half baked tablet with no practical use in the average consumer market. If in fact RIM's target customer for the PB was government or enterprise then that was a enormous fail on their behalf. Time for RIM to start thinking out of the box. They are in this predicament because exactly what you say and believe in. You RIM apologist never cease to amaze me.

How is it an enormous fail? The QNX OS was FIPS certified in months (in perspective, Apple has been trying to get iOS FIPS certified for years) and a week after that a nation is already thinking of banning iPads to adopt them. Sounds like an enormous success to me...

I will admit that it was released way too soon, but it sure is a promising tablet, with a LOT of potential. Do you disagree with that?

[jd914]

How is it an enormous fail? The QNX OS was FIPS certified in months (in perspective, Apple has been trying to get iOS FIPS certified for years) and a week after that a nation is already thinking of banning iPads to adopt them. Sounds like an enormous success to me...

I will admit that it was released way too soon, but it sure is a promising tablet, with a LOT of potential. Do you disagree with that?

I no longer have BIS. Why should I or anyone without BIS looking to get a tablet device buy a PB? Just because it looks promising or has potential doesn't equal success at the cash register, then again you can try to explain that to the share holder who has taken an enormous money loss. As for the iPad its a few weeks on back order, how about the PB? RIM should be more concerned in selling a couple of million PB's instead of a couple of thousands to governments, it's a flop.

Again why should I buy a PB?

[BigBadWulf]

While it would seem foolish to some that RIM focuses on security, the fact is it's their bread and butter. When they lost focus, and tried to be equal parts consumer and business, that's when they started to slide downhill. I'm not suggesting they abandon the consumer market now, don't get me wrong. It's absolutely necessary for their success, but they must have security placed as job #1. It's that principle that helped bring me to BlackBerry as a non-business user, and part of what keeps me here.

To address the lack of an email app on the PB. I may be a little lost. I can see where the desire for an Outlook like app would have interest, but it does have a fine working browser, so accessing email on it isn't impossible. I never used pop3 on my PC anyway, so I wouldn't have cared in the least. You can pull your mail from the browser can't you?

[BigBadWulf]

Next time I see "RIM apologist" or the like, the ban hammer is swinging. Enough of the crap, stay on point.